![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-300x200.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
Former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has agreed to leave Zenit St Petersburg by mutual consent.
The 53-year-old has been heavily linked with the vacant manager’s job of the Italian national team.
Former Inter Milan boss Mancini took charge of Zenit in June 2017, and they are fifth in the Russian Premier League
“Zenit and Roberto Mancini agree to an early end to the manager’s contract,” the club said in a statement.
“The contract will be terminated by mutual consent without any compensation payable.”
Mancini began his managerial career at Fiorentina who were cash-stricken at the time. At 35, he won a Coppa Italia with Fiorentina, but left with the team facing bankruptcy.
Months later he took over as manager at Lazio, where again he inherited financial constraints and was forced to lose a number of key players.
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With limited resources during his two-season tenure, he guided the club to another Coppa Italia.
In 2004, Mancini was given the chance to manage a major club with more resources when he was offered the manager’s job at Inter.
During his first tenure at Inter, the club won three consecutive Serie A titles, an Inter club record, and an Italian record 17 consecutive league game victories stretching nearly half a season; Mancini became Inter’s most successful manager in 30 years.
Despite his domestic success, many pundits saw the repeated failure to win the coveted Champions League as the main reason for his dismissal in 2008.
After being out of football for over a year, Mancini was appointed Manchester City manager in December 2009.
Under his stewardship, he instilled a winning culture at the club taking Manchester City from a mid-table club to the pinnacle of English football, combining defensive solidity with attacking flair.
In the 2010–11 season, his first full season at Manchester City, Mancini guided the club to Champions League football and the FA Cup.
In the 2011–12 season, Mancini guided Manchester City to the club’s first league title in 44 years in an enthralling last day of the season, winning 3–2, with two goals in injury time in what was called “the best match of the best last day of the season in English football history.”
